"Hi, I'm Jeff Bezos. I can't do his hysterical laugh.... Amazon seems out to control shopping in this country. This ultimately will have an effect on every grocery and department store chain and every big box store and ultimately put thousands of mom and pop stores out of business. It sounds like a monopoly to me. Amazon also wants to control bookselling, book buying and book publishing. That's a national tragedy. If this is the new American way, it has to be changed by law if necessary."
--James Patterson, speaking at the Celebration of Bookselling at BEA yesterday, where he accepted the Indie Champion Award, to a standing ovation from the crowd.